Flying back as fast as he could, Lloyd tried to cover the panic rising in his chest. He couldn't get scared now. If that happened, then his dragon would disappear. He had no time for that. The blond had no idea what was going on or who that ghost was, but apparently, he held some grudge.
Kai had been right. It was better for him to leave. The ghost wasn't after him and it was probably the only chance he had to warn the others. He hated the thought of leaving his older brother behind, but his choices were limited. Uncle Wu would know what to do. He always knew what to do.
The wind rushed past him, nothing he passed was clear to him. The buildings and landscapes becoming a blur at his speed. Usually, Jay was the fastest of them, but with his mind rushing and the adrenaline working, his pace was rising.
As he landed behind the gates of their new property, Lloyd stumbled over his own feet in panic as he rushed inside.
"Sensei!" he yelled in panic, almost collapsing onto the wooden ground of their shop. Why was breathing so hard?
Footsteps could be heard rushing through the building. Wu appeared from the back, the ninja right behind him.
"Lloyd, what happened. Where is Kai?" Wu asked.
"I-there was-.....I" why was breathing so hard?!
"Lloyd, calm down" Misako stepped forward, wrapping an arm around her son. He clung to her shirt. Whatever happened, it was bad.
"Lloyd please, tell us what happened" Wu tried once again.
The blond took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He straightened up, holding back the shiver that wanted to run down his back. He forced his panic down.
"At the museum, I followed the night guard into one of the rooms. But something was wrong. At first, I didn't notice, but he was acting strange. And then, he revealed himself to be someone else. A ghost, using the night guards' body" he started to explain.
"Ghosts exist?" Jay asked, both confused, exited, and a bit frightened.
"There are many things that exist that we don't know about yet Jay" Zane said.
"Anyway, that ghost, he said that he was supposed to be the green ninja-"
"He what!?!" the ninja exclaimed in shock.
Lloyd nodded. "Kai stepped in and send me away. It was strange, like he knew what was going on. He had taken water with him, claiming that he knew how to take care of ghosts."
A beat of silence followed. Wu took a deep breath. A ghost claiming to be the green ninja.
"I....had feared for this day to come. Though I never thought it would be like this" he mumbled.
"Sensei, what's going on?" Cole asked.
"That ghost.....was he able to control the wind?"
"Wu?" Misako raised an eyebrow at the old master. What did he know?
"Who is he?" Lloyd dared to ask.
"That ghost was Morro, the master of wind. I never thought I would have to talk about him again. But if Kai knew how to handle a ghost........what is going on here?" the old master asked himself.
"Kai has been acting strange all day. Something else is going on" Cole crossed his arms.
Lloyd hummed in thought. By now he had calmed down greatly. There was no time for him to fall back into a childish behavior. Not right now. Every now and then he would still have this childish panic and sometimes even temper tantrums.
Wu said that the tomorrow's tea aged him physically, but mentally he was still very young. And it showed when he was stressed or scared.
"But why did he say that he was the green ninja?" Jay asked.
"That....is a long story. One that we do not have the time for. Not now. We must leave immediately" Wu said.
The old master went to grab everything he needed, heading towards their ship. The ninja followed suit.
"Leave? Why? Where are we going?" Lloyd asked.
"We can't just leave. This is our place. And Kai needs our help. We can't leave him behind" Zane insisted.
"Yes, we can" the old sensei replied.
Lloyd glanced outside into the courtyard. The wind started to pick up. Storm clouds covering the sky. Something big was coming, and if he had to guess, it was Morro. Oh no, not this time. He wasn't going to lose anyone else this time.
"You can leave, if you want" he said, not turning towards the others. "I will stay."
"Lloyd-"
"No! I won't run away. Never again. I ran away from my destiny, from the Overlord and a crazy guy obsessed with snakes. You can go and hide if you want. But I'm done with running away."
Lightning struck in the sky. It was going to rain soon, he knew it. One of the things he could feel as the green ninja were the elements. He knew when a storm was approaching. And this one was going to be strong.
"Lloyd's right. If that guy comes here, we can't run from him. He would only try to find us again" Cole said.
"A logical conclusion. If that ghost is really looking for Lloyd, then running would only result in more running" Zane nodded.
"You guys sure? I don't really want to fight Kai like this" Jay said with a weary voice.
Wu sighed. He had trained them to face a coming fight. And they were right. As much guilt as he felt, he had to face his mistakes and set things right. He had run away for many years.
"You are right students. But be prepared. I have trained Morro myself. He is strong and unpredictable" he said.
"You trained him!?" the ninja yelled.
"It is a very long story" Wu sighed.
"You better tell us this story when we're done here" Misako grumbled. She was the only one who would talk to the old master like this.
"The storm is getting closer" Jay said. "You think he's coming here?"
"I do not see how he would know where to find us" Zane shook his head.
Yeah, that guy found Lloyd because he called him to the museum. There is no way he could know where we are" Cole nodded.
"But Kai knows" the green ninja muttered as he continued to watch the storm forming in the sky.
"Kai just send you here to make sure that guy didn't get to you. There is no way he would tell him where to find you" Cole meant.
"Not willingly, no."
"What? I don't get it" Jay raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"You guys never heard of possession?" the blond asked.
"Possession? That's just a legend. A myth" Cole shrugged.
"Oh?" Lloyd finally turned around to face his friends and family. "Like the serpentine? A myth like the overlord? Like ghosts? There is nothing that is impossible and nothing that we haven't seen before that people believed to be nothing but rumors."
"Lloyd is right" Wu said. "If Morro really plans on using Kai to find our location, then I don't see any reason to not be concerned. But Lloyd, how do you know about this?" he asked.
The blond crossed his arms over his chest. "It was Darkley's version of bedtime stories."
"Okay, but what do we do? If that guy is really after Lloyd, then we can't just fight him until he gives up" Cole said.
"He is not going to come and fight forever" Wu shook his head. "Before he left, Morro was determined to find the tomb of my father. I don't believe he has found it. But Morro is not one to give up."
"And you know where it is, Sensei?" Zane asked.
"I do not. My father said that he would leave me and Garmadon a clue if we ever wished to see him one last time. But I never found it" the old master sighed.
At the sound of thunder roaring through the sky, the ninja turned back to look outside. No, this was not going to be easy. But whatever happened, Lloyd knew that he was not going to just give up. He didn't know who Morro thought himself to be, but he was not the green ninja. That, he would prove.
When lightning finally struck, it filled the yard with a bright light. For a second the blond couldn't see what was in front of him, until the light died down again seconds later. And when Lloyd could see again, he didn't like the view one bit.
It was Kai standing at the entrance to the large, circled place, but not at the same time. the teen took a deep breath. He didn't even need to think about who it was standing there. He knew. They knew. Kai had kept his promise. It was just this morning. And Lloyd was more than grateful by the way the fire master had sacrificed himself like this.
He took a deep breath. "Let's see how good this guy really is" he said with determination, stepping out of the shop. The possessed fire master did the same, both of them meeting in the stone circle as they began to circle each other from a save distance.
"So, this is the fabled green ninja. Protector of Ninjago. Running away like a coward" the ghost laughed.
"I'm not running now, am I?" he shot back. "What do you want?"
"I want what is rightfully mine!" Morro hissed back. "The title of the green ninja should've been mine!"
Lloyd scoffed. "Sorry, but you don't get to decide that. How about you go back to the cursed realm where you belong?"
"I'll pass" the wind master chuckled. "I have goals and don't have time to play with a child."
The blond frowned. Seeing someone he knew talk like this was weird. Even though he knew it wasn't Kai speaking, it felt so wrong.
"Care to share those with the class?" he smirked.
"Gladly" Morro growled. "Originally, I planned to take you, but hothead will do as well. All I need is a Spinjitzu master. Since he won't let me near you, I have to work with what I get. I'll be fine with just killing you as well."
"I don't think you'll get the chance" Lloyd shot back. "I know Kai, he will do everything he can to be a nuisance to you. You won't get far."
"I beg to differ. I already got something from him. I don't know how he does it, but your friend is very good at keeping a lock on his memories. What I did get though, was where the clues to the tomb are" the ghost smirked.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes. How could Kai know that? None of them even knew if it existed in the first place. Something else was going on here. Ever since they went to the museum Kai had been acting weird.
He knew how to handle a ghost. Knew that Morro was after him. And now the clues? What was going on here?
"And I know something else."
Lloyd was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of the wind master's voice.
"The incident just a few weeks ago? Seems like I'm not the only one that thinks you're not fit to be the green ninja" he laughed.
The blond didn't know what to think of that. Yes, Kai had a moment of weakness. But he knew very well that it was not his brother speaking. It had been the enormous amount of power that overwhelmed him.
"They all wanted to be the green ninja. It doesn't matter if Kai is still jealous. No one's perfect. Why should I hold it against him?"
"Why not. He was so ready to get rid of you. All this talking about protecting you? They all expect you to solve all the problems. To be their hero. Go ahead and solve this problem!"
Lloyd only had seconds to realize what was going on when he was suddenly lifted of the ground and was thrown away. For a moment, he lost orientation, and he whirled around in the air. Hitting the ground hurt. The hard concrete did nothing to soften his fall.
The moment he looked up, he saw the others finally taking action, charging at the wind master at full speed. NO! They couldn't do that. They would only hurt Kai.
Standing up, Lloyd rushed forwards, trying to throw the other off balance. But he had no luck. Sensei had been right; he was really good. Had more years of experience than any of them. It couldn't even be called a fight. They didn't have any chance.
While the others were thrown away by the wind, Lloyd suddenly found himself pinned to the ground. Man, this guy was strong.
"And you're supposed to be the strongest of them? Pathetic. You can't even land a hit on me!"
The hands on his wrists were beginning to get warm. Really warm. Shit. Morro may be good, but he had no idea how to control Kai's fire. It was driven by emotion, like most elements. And the ghost had even more temper than Kai himself. If he kept going like this, then Lloyd would get some serious burns.
But he couldn't help himself as he glared at the wind master, speaking with no hesitation.
"I'm not the green ninja because of my strength. At least I don't need to use others to get what I want!"
God, that was stupid. It was getting hotter, to the point where he could feel the fabric of his gi burning away around his wrists. Lloyd bit back the hiss of pain that almost left him.
But Morro seemed to notice and smirked. "I forgot" he said. "The fire element. You are not invincible. Maybe I can hurt you in other ways."
There was too much glee in his voice as Lloyd tried to force him away. His skin began stinging with pain. His arms were beginning to get numb with the pain shooting up, getting weaker.
But he didn't stop, clenching his eyes closed and trying to keep the tears at bay that were threatening to fall. It hurt. A lot.
"Morro! Stop this at once!"
And he did. Llyod gasped as the fire faded away from his wrists. The stinging sensation stayed though. Zane would have to help him later.
"Sensei. Been a long time" the weird glee in his voice stayed as Morro stood up and stepped away.
Lloyd sat up, looking down at his wrists. They were burned, badly.
"It is enough Morro. Leave my students alone this instant!" Wu demanded sharply.
"Sorry, I don't take orders from you anymore" the ghost said with little interest. "I do need the staff though."
"The staff? Then the clues are on the staff?" Cole asked.
"That would be the logical conclusion" Zane said.
"I am not surprised that you are still angry at me, but Lloyd has nothing to do with this" Wu said.
"You think so?" the ghost chuckled. "We'll see. Now do you think you can still beat me?"
Wu twirled the staff around in the air before smashing the end onto the ground. "No matter how old I get, I will always be able to teach you a lesson."
Morro growled before charging at the old master. The pain Lloyd felt was too much to fully realize what happened next. Zane was suddenly in front of him, Jay and Cole on one side each.
"Let me see" Zane said.
"Later Sensei needs our help" Lloyd tried to brush it off and stand, but the moment he put pressure on his hands they began stinging furiously and he fell back down with a pained cry.
"Lloyd, he burned your wrists pretty bad. We need to take care of this now" Cole meant.
"We don't have time for this now" the blond shook his head.
When he tried standing up this time, Lloyd pushed through the stinging pain.
"What do we even do? We can't hurt Kai and we obviously need the staff as well. We can't even hit him" Jay said.
"I know" Lloyd sighed. "Seems like the only thing we can do right now is try to get away."
The others nodded, running behind the building to start the bounty. Misako and Nya were already there, trying to get the ship started.
"We don't have much fuel, but the wind is on our side for now. With luck, we can get away" Nya explained as she furiously pressed buttons, starting the engine.
"We just need to pick up Wu" Misako said.
"The storm will give us enough cover. He controls the wind, not the weather. But we need Kai's help" Llyod said, leaving for the deck outside.
"Kai? He can't help us right now" Jay said with some panic.
"Yeah, he can. He just needs some motivation" the blond smiled.
Outside, the first raindrops were finally starting to fall. The thunder roaring in the sky indicated that it was getting closer. They had to follow it.
As the ship rose into the sky, the anchor was let down. Wu took his chance, using his staff to throw Morro off his legs and onto the ground before jumping onto the anchor and being lifted onto the bounty.
As soon as the old master landed on the ship, Lloyd leaned over the edge. "Kai!" he yelled.
"Have you lost it!?" Jay screeched.
"Don't yell for him" Cole said, trying to pry the younger ninja away from the edge.
To everyone's surprise though, when the ghost looked up to them, it seemed like it actually was Kai that responded to the call.
"I need your help now. Hold him back. We don't need more than three minutes!" the teen begged that it would work.
Lloyd was even more surprised when he saw the genuine smile on the fire masters face. That was Kai alright. He didn't need any more evidence. Lloyd quickly ran towards the bridge.
"Now Nya" he yelled, holding onto the railing.
"Gotcha!" she smiled, pressing the button for the thrusters.
As they went straight toward the storm and into the clouds Lloyd swore, he could hear the ghost yelling angrily.
"Now that we are out of danger, I think it's time you tell us the whole story about that guy Sensei" Cole crossed his arms.
"I will" Wu nodded. "And when we have found a safe place to land, we can start treating out wounds."
Lloyd looked down at his wrists. The burns would leave marks, he just knew it. And when Kai saw them, he would blame himself for it. But Lloyd knew better. It still hurt a lot, but time would let them heal. He would never associate them with the fire master. But they would forever remind him of the ghost that swore to bring him down.
What had they gotten into this time?